Orquesta Aragon

Legends of Cuban music, together since 1939, Orquesta Aragon has at various times been the kings of danzon, cha-cha-cha and charanga, with their sounds exported to the States via RCA Records during a golden era in the mid-1950s. Known as great players, singers and sometimes dancers as well, Orquesta Aragon injected a heavy dose of African percussion into their sound in the 1960s and ’70s, no doubt to keep pace with the salsa explosion. But string-laden charangas remain the band's hallmark, and Orquesta Aragon is still going mighty strong. Tom Surowicz